Optical Illusion

So I know you've all seen this optical illusion before. You see the old woman, you see the young woman. Which one you see, though, probably corresponds with the one you first saw, either because a) you saw it first, or b) you saw it second and had to work harder to see it than you did to see the first one you saw so that now you see the harder one first. Make sense? Of course it did.

Same way with song lyrics. Mishear something the first time and I'm singing it that way for the rest of my life. You can prove to me that it's something else and I'll know it's something else, but in my head, I'm stuck on the first understanding (I don't have a good example for this, although I'm sure you do, which is why you'd make an excellent blogger and it's really something you should try your hand at sometime).

One thing that the Jehovah's Witnesses are good at is toggling that first-impression switch the direction they want it to go in as far as Scripture is concerned. As they're taking you through parts of the Bible you've likely never read before, you'll be hitting verses and passages that are confusing, at best. Not to worry, they'll guide you through them, and you come out with what you figure is a solid understanding of them. And if you don't think otherwise (and as a JW you're conditioned not to), you'll camp out there all day, refusing to believe there's even the possibility of an old woman in the picture.

Two examples:

In John 10:16 Jesus says, " I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd" Witnesses are quick to teach that this is proof of the anointed and the non-anointed, the 144,000 that go to heaven and the great multitude that live forever on Earth. Therefore every single time a Witness reads this verse, that is immediately their understanding and translation of it. Most Witnesses refer to the non-anointed as the "other sheep".

Fair enough, perhaps, but it says something that this stunned me when I read it shortly after being disfellowshipped: What in that verse, or its context, prevents it from meaning that Jesus is referring to the Jews and the Gentiles? That idea was absolutely foreign to me but it makes perfect sense. Is that what Jesus was referring to? Not sure; If you Google part of that verse you'll find at least two other explanations. But what prevents that verse from meaning something other than what the Witnesses say it does? I haven't found anything yet. But to a Witnesses, that verse refers to the anointed and non-anointed, and that's the end of it, because that's what they were taught.

Expanding a bit in a second example, Romans 14 clearly states that there are and will be ideological differences between Christians. Some will observe holy days, some will not. Some will eat whatever they please, some will adhere to dietary restrictions. Witnesses reduce the significance of this chapter (in my opinion) by declaring Paul's words to refer to insignificant matters of taste and style, since Witnesses value unity over all. But look closer and bring in context: Paul is referring to holy days and dietary restrictions, two of the cornerstones of the Jewish faith. Moreover, although he has explicitly said that we are no longer under the old Law, we should not stumble those who are weak in their faith or otherwise feel compelled to observe the Law. But yet, as it says in verse 3, God has accepted both the strong and the weak.

The problem is that Romans 14 brings up some complicated thinking, and it's difficult to paint a picture of happy shining Witness unity when this sort of thing is allowed for. So they reduce it to meaninglessness. But Paul isn't talking about different colors of ties and heels vs. pumps. These are huge, faith-based issues, and God accepts everyone no matter where they are on their spiritual journey. If they've accepted Christ as their ransom, they're Christians. The rest of life is the path towards spiritual maturity. JW's would rather stick the person at the end of the path and get them to stay there. We know that's not possible.

So I guess in short, my admonition is to do your own thinking, look around for other ideas and see if they match what you know to be true, and let the only blinders you put on be ones that you and God have agreed to put on you, not you and some organization. Jesus never turned away those who had questions; Why should we not be allowed to ask them too?